Footwear cushioning system

ABSTRACT

An footwear cushioning system comprising a matrix of elongate, hollow, elastomer tubes joined together in a honeycomb matrix which extends laterally at least partially across selected portions of the sole of the footwear. The tubes may or may not be enclosed in an air bag.

BACKGROUND

It is well known to place an air bag in all types of footwear to providecushioning against impact of the footwear on the ground. While air bagsdo provide cushioning, they can become compromised such that the airescapes the air bag, which makes the air bag ineffective. This leakingcan either be slowly due to a small amount of air leaking each time thefoot bag impacts the ground, or very quickly when a nail, or other sharpobject, penetrates the air bag. This latter event is particularly aproblem with work boots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A cushioning system for footwear comprises a matrix of hollowelastomeric tubes joined together to create a honeycomb which is placedin footwear between the sole and upper. The tube matrix may or may notbe enclosed within an air bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is fragmentary portion of a boot, partially broken away to showthe subject invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views taken along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1, showing alternate embodiments of the subject invention.

FIGS. 3-6 are side elevational views, similar to FIG. 1 showingdifferent embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a boot, or other type offootwear, 10 has a cushioning system 12 located between its outsole 14and upper 16, in a location where air bags typically are located. Thecushioning system is a plurality of elongate, hollow, elastomeric tubes18 which preferably are attached to one another to create an integralassembly in the nature of a honeycomb matrix. The tubes can be made fromany elastomeric material, and different materials will provide differentcushioning characteristics. Materials that would work well for thispurpose are thermoplastic olefins or thermoplastic elastomers. Thehoneycomb typically would be made by injecting molding.

The size of the tubes 18 and their wall thickness, or both, can varydepending on where they were placed in the footwear and the desiredlevel of cushioning. For example, the tubes located in the toe sectionof the boot illustrated in FIG. 1 are smaller than the tubes located inthe heel section, and have a smaller wall thickness. While the drawingshows a specific uniform tube size and thickness in the toe section anda specific uniform tube size and thickness in the heel section, therecould be multiple size tubes in the toe section or the heel section. Inaddition, the cushioning system may only be in the toe, FIG. 3, only bein the heel, FIG. 4, or extend over the entire extent of the boot, FIG.5.

The tubes can be polygonal in a cross-section, such as the hexagonaltubes shown in FIGS. 1 and 3-5, or circular in cross-section, as shownin FIG. 6. The tubes may or may not be enclosed within an air bag 20,FIG. 2B. The air in the air bag can either be at or around ambientpressure or at an elevated pressure. When the tubes are enclosed in anair bag, the tubes provide some of the cushioning effect and the air bagproduces some of the cushioning effect. However, unlike a boot withcushioning provided only by an air bag, if the air bag is punctured thetubes still provide some cushioning.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoingspecification are used therein as terms of description and not oflimitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms andexpressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and describedor portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the inventionis defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A footwear cushioning system comprising: (a) amatrix of hollow elastomeric tubes which extends at least partiallyacross the lateral extent of a sole of the footwear.
 2. A footwearcushioning system of claim 1 wherein said tubes are attached to oneanother.
 3. The footwear cushioning system of claim 1 wherein said tubesare circular in cross-section.
 4. The footwear cushioning system ofclaim 1 wherein said tubes are polygonal in cross-section.
 5. Thefootwear cushioning system of claim 4 wherein said tubes are hexagonalin cross-section.
 6. The footwear cushioning system of claim 1 whereinsaid tubes are made from a thermoplastic olefin.
 7. The footwearcushioning system of claim 1 wherein said tubes made from athermoplastic elastomer.
 8. The footwear cushioning system of claim 1wherein said tubes are located in a toe portion of the footwear.
 9. Thefootwear cushioning system of claim 1 wherein said tubes are located ina heel portion of the footwear.
 10. The footwear cushioning system ofclaim 1 wherein said tubes are located in both a heel and the portionsof the footwear.
 11. The footwear cushioning system of claim 1 whereinsaid tubes are located within a sealed air bag.
 12. The footwearcushioning system of claim 10 wherein the air in said bag is at anelevated pressure.
 13. The footwear cushioning system of claim 1 whereinsaid tubes have a cross-sectional size which can vary depending on theapplication.
 14. The footwear cushioning system of claim 1 wherein saidtubes have a wall thickness which can vary depending on the application.